The real reason Muscat was cheesed off is right here
Spot Consuelo Herrera's close friend and Charlon Gouder's lawyer, Vince Micallef, in the crush to touch the sacred flesh
timesofmalta.com, this morning
It was insulting for a decision to be taken about a constitutional post and the person holding that position is not informed, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.
Dr Muscat, who is also the Opposition leader, said that when the Prime Minister decided to award ministers, parliamentary secretaries, the Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition a double pay 30 months ago, he kept his decision well hidden, including from his own people.
As Opposition leader, he was not informed that he was to start receiving a double pay and he had never received this double pay.
He’s teed off because he was left out of the loop, and instead of directing his embarrassed rage at the person who left him out of the loop – his own party whip – he’s stamping his feet all over town.
Oh, and did you notice – he’s angry because he didn’t get his money. I can’t say I blame him, not when there are all those charities gagging for donations.
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Those men all look like a bunch of idiots. Anqas ghall-Madonna ta’ Lourdes nahseb ma jaghmlu hekk. X`mentalita` uff, jridu jmisshu il-Leader ha jaqalaw il-grazzja.
There’s something about Maltese poltics which approaches homoeroticism in its physicality. The hands reaching out. The pat on the back. Carrying the prime minister shoulder-high. The prodding, the jostling, the huffing and puffing, and the pasty grins on heavy jowls.
Why has The Times become the PL’s mouthpiece? Is it Kurt Sansone, furthering his agenda?
Yes, Matt, this is noticed by all those who read The Times every day. It looks as if the PL have been playing their cards right and making sure that ‘their’ people get jobs there. Have you heard about PL complaints to The Times these past months?
[Daphne – Let’s be fair. It’s actually about one or two people being allowed to pursue their personal agenda, possibly because nobody in authority has noticed that it has got out of hand. When you employ somebody who was politically active against the Nationalist Party, you can’t expect him to ditch his bias when covering stories.]
I should think there are more pressing issues right now (Muscat’s words, not mine) than this salary increase incident. We haven’t heard anything else since the start of the year.
Charlie Mangion tal-Labour m’huwiex ic-Chairman tal-Public Accounts Committee u shadow minister tal-finanzi? Allura nghid jien, dawn il-flus kollha kif harbulu ghal sentejn shah? Dan inkompetenti?
U l-Awditur Generali li kieku xamm xi haga procedurali tintenn ma’ kienx jitkellem?
Issa jew dat-tnejn kienu reqdin raqda tajba jew inkella Joseph qed jghaddina passata ikeskisna kontra Gonzi.
Ghax tghid Dr Mangion l-anqas fetah halqu fuq din il-bicca. Forsi qed jaspira li jsir ministru? Jew kien jaf, ghax mal-flus mhux la kemm tilaghblu
Touch Joseph and you’re healed.
With BWSC and the salary increases, Labour complicated the issues, leaving so many loose ends, that when the dust settled it is not clear what issues they were raising at all.
I am still confused as to what they identified as wrong in both cases. With the salary increases, it was obviously not a matter of insensitivity to people who can’t make ends meet, because I haven’t seen them rush to refuse the extra money.
If this is the way they will tackle issues when they are in government, then this country is going to descend into complete chaos.
On the contrary, it is extremely clear: “Vote Labour ghax nafu naghmlu l-magiks.”
The message, which in any normal country would have been greeted with derision, is: “Vote Labour so Joseph Muscat can add another feather in his cap.”
I cannot take the way he refers to himself as the Leader of the Opposition as if we do not know that he holds a constitutional role.
Joseph Muscat obviously believes that this issue of increases in ministers’ honoraria is a god-send and the perfect card to play to his idolaters, seeing that it feeds on the ‘lanzit’ which is so much the backbone of all Socialist parties.
You could see it in their red bulging eyes as they spat out their attacks on Gonzi as if he had stolen their grandmother’s purse on her deathbed.
We have to admit however that this issue has damaged the PN’s standing considerably, even with thir own members, and the PN has to perforce resort to some serious damage control, if they want to retrive some of their credibility.
I recently heard David Agius (not my favourite PN MP, but still) on the radio, and he very convincingly proved that the LP was more than aware of the increases, and thus the crocodile tears Muscat and his merry band are crying are pure ‘facciolizmu’.
I suggest that the PN should take out full page adverts in the independent press and on state TV highlighting the relevant information and documented evidence Agius spoke about.
Let’s put an end to this farce – after all, what’s wrong with ministers and parliamentary secretaries having a decent salary, which is comparable to top civil servants and less than many CEOs of parastatal bodies?